The Ignorance of Personal Space
by LostOne125
Summary: Neal/Peter. slash. male/male. You've been warned. Peter's noticed something quite disturbing about Neal. How will he handle it?


**Disclaimer: I do not own White Collar or the characters. This is not for profit, merely for entertainment.**

**The Ignorance of Personal Space**

Peter's not quite sure when he noticed, and he wondered how long it had been going on before he realized it.

Neal Caffrey had no sense of personal space and was very touchy feely, at least when it came to him. He watched Neal around the office, and he never did that to Cruz or Jones, or anybody else. Just him.

First time he noticed, he and Neal were going into question a witness. After they had finished, Peter was heading toward the door and he felt a small pressure on his back. He turned and Neal was right there, a few inches from his face.

"Neal, what are you doing?"

The conman looked at him in confusion. "I'm walking toward the door with you."

Peter sighed in frustration and continued toward the door with a hand still pressed to his back, shaking his head.

Peter was sitting in his office, pouring over some file from case they were working on. He stopped when he felt a presence hovering near him. He glanced back and there was Neal with a hand on his chair, looking over his shoulder. Once again his face was few inches from his; he found himself staring into very blue eyes with a wicked glint in them.

He blinked and leaned away from the other man.

"Do you have to do that? It's sort of distracting."

"Peter, how am I supposed to help, if I can't look at the files? "

Peter pointed toward the stack of folders on the table. "You already have copies over there!"

Neal pouted and returned to his seat. "You just spoil all the fun."

The agent stared after the conman in bewilderment.

He had just come from a meeting, when he walked into his office. He was tired, very tired. Neal had two cups of coffee in his hand.

He couldn't stop a small smile from breaking across his face. "Thanks, Neal." He said as he took one cup of coffee from him. Their fingers brushed against each other at that moment.

Neal's fingers lingered over his own, sending a sensation through his body. "You're welcome, Peter."

The way his name rolled off Neal's lips should not make him feel like grabbing the other man and kissing him breathless, just to hear his name again. Peter quickly sat down behind his desk, feeling a pair of eyes on him the entire time.

Peter had gone over to June's to pick Neal up and head to the office. When Neal walked down the stairs, he was dressed impeccably like always with his hat tilted to the side.

"Good morning, Peter," Neal said cheerfully.

"Good morning. Ready to go?" Peter replied feeling slightly inferior compared to the other man. Did he wake up glowing with his hair perfectly combed or something? It was so unfair.

"Of course. Wait Peter, you're tie is crooked. Here let me fix it. What would the others say?"

Before he could protest, Neal was in front of him, fingers deftly untying his tie and doing it over again. Peter stood just stood there, staring at Neal's strong yet agile hands so close to his neck. Fingertips brushed against his Adam's apple.

He gulped. He forgot what the other man said. _Oh, right._ "I doubt they care what I'm wearing. No one pays me any attention, at least not like that."

He saw Neal's fingers finish and a hand press into his chest, feeling his heart pound. He finally met Neal's gaze.

Neal was staring at him with such intensity that he had to glance away, a light blush covering his face. "Now, that's a lie."

Peter cleared his throat and stepped away from the warm hand. "We should go."

He practically ran to the door with Neal only a few steps behind him.

Peter ducked behind a dumpster as gunfire rang through the air. He reached out instinctually to push Neal behind him. The other man did as he was told. They had followed a suspect into an alley. The criminal knew he was cornered.

He pulled out his gun and glanced over at Neal. "Stay here and I mean it this time."

Peter poked his head out and saw the suspect climbing up a fire escape. _He couldn't let him get away._ _Not again._ He made a run for it, aiming for the crook, while he was distracted. Unfortunately, the man saw him and raised his gun also.

Shots filled the space of silence.

Neal was already halfway down the alley to see Peter fall back and the man they were chasing collapse on the metal stairs. He sped up and crouched on the dirty street.

"Peter," he said frantically. He pulled at Peter's jacket trying to find the wound and ripped open his shirt, exposing a vest.

Peter sat up and didn't stop Neal from touching him. He pulled his shirt to the side to show the bullet lodged into the vest, right above his heart. "I'm fine, Neal."

He looked up at the conman and was startled to see Neal right there in his face and their lips inches apart.

Neal breathed a sigh of relief. "You really scared me. We should call the others and tell them where we are."

"Already told them where we were before we got here," the agent replied, licking his lips subconsciously.

Blue eyes flicked down to capture the action.

"Peter!" someone yelled. They jumped away from each other and turned back. Cruz and Jones were running toward them.

The moment was ruined as the other agents came charging down the alley. They endured interrogation. Peter was forced to go to the hospital, even though he repeatedly said he didn't need to.

Neal had stayed with him the entire time, while he was at the hospital. He called Elizabeth and told her what happened. She seemed amused to know that Neal was hovering around him, practically smothering him. "At least, I know you're okay. Don'y worry honey, you're in good hands."

_Was it weird that he kind of liked it?_

When Peter got back to the offices, it was pretty late. "I just want to write up this report. You didn't have to come back with me." He threw his jacket on the coat stand and turned to lean on his desk.

"I just want to make sure you're alright," Neal said eyeing the place where Peter was shot.

The agent stood up and huffed in annoyance. "I told you I was fine. All of this is part of the job description. I'm used to it."

Neal stalked towards him, invading the other man's space once again. "I don't like seeing you hurt."

"I wasn't…"Peter placed his hand between them to stop Neal, but the younger man simply pushed his arm out of the way. Not that he was putting up much of a fight.

Neal didn't stop until they were pressed flushed against each other. One hand cupped Peter's cheek and the other found its way to his hip. He pushed him backwards, slipping between his legs. He put their foreheads together. "For once, Peter don't try to analyze this."

They stared at each other for the longest time, just taking it all in.

Peter finally broke the silence. "I noticed you're always in my space for some reason. At first, I thought I was imagining things."

A grin slid across Neal's face as he fisted a hand in his hair and yanked him forward. "For an FBI agent, you weren't very good at putting together the smallest hints."

Before he could reply his mouth was overtaken by a devious tongue. Peter wrapped his arms around Neal's waist and bought him closer. He groaned as he was pushed backwards onto the desk. Hands were everywhere, running up and down his back, into his hair, rubbing his thigh.

They parted because of the lack of air. They both tried to catch their breath.

Peter practically collapsed onto the other man. "I hate you."

Laughter vibrated against the skin of his neck. Neal straightened himself up. "No, you don't. You care about me so much it scares you. Why do you think I was so _subtle_ with you? I didn't want to frighten you away."

Peter held onto Neal a little tighter than before. "I don't think that's possible, not anymore anway."

Neal watched him for the longest time, then gave him a short kiss. He took a few steps back, which left Peter very annoyed at the sudden feeling of coldness.

"Would you rather finish that report or come with me?" he asked with a smile tugging at his lips and a little bit of hopefulness in his eyes.

Peter sighed and finally found his footing. He grabbed his jacket and shrugged it back on. "Don't think that look is going to work on me all the time."

Neal's expression said,'I am totally offended, but you know I will use it against you from now on.'

"Peter, I wouldn't dream of it," he said sweetly, wrapping an arm around the agent and a hand on the small of his back. They walked briskly toward the elevators with very little room between their bodies.

Peter would just have to get used to the fact that his pesonal space didn't exist with Neal around.


End file.
